Tedford done at Cal? *Update* Tedford Fired

(Posted on 11/14/12 at 10:01 am)

There's rumors out there that the AD is meeting with Tedford this weekend and that he will be fired. I thought they were too broke to pay his expensive buyout, but apparently some boosters have come up with the funds to do it.

In an impromptu interview with a reporter, Sandy Barbour mentioned that she will be meeting with Tedford on Sunday instead of waiting for Monday, and she didn't say anything that could be interpreted as a vote of confidence, so Cal fans see that as a sign that he will be let go on Sunday. Cal's last game is this Saturday (they played 12 straight weeks with no break), so I guess that gives us a slight head start on vetting and interviewing HC candidates vs. all the other programs that will be firing coaches after the season.

Tedford would be an immediate upgrade to many bad FBS teams, including major conference teams like Colorado. But he wouldn't be an exciting hire for most, because of the not-unreasonable perception that the game is passing him by.

<rant> The two most frustrating things about Tedford:

1. Personnel decisions. The questions started in 2005, when Tedford stuck with in-over-his-head QB Joe Ayoob, who suffered a total meltdown against USC. Ayoob was clearly more physically talented than the backup Steve Levy, but Ayoob was not handling things well mentally and fans wanted to see what Levy could do. Levy finally started the last two games, at Stanford and in the LV Bowl against BYU, and was 2-0 because he played with confidence and within his limitations. The questions continued when Tedford stuck with QB Nate Longshore in 2007 after his high-ankle sprain that never fully healed during the season. This was Tedford's most talented team, filled with future NFLers, but Cal's 5-0 start turned into 6-6 because Longshore's play deteriorated and never recovered. Only after Cal fell behind Air Force 21-0 in the AF Bowl did Tedford finally put Kevin Riley in, and he led Cal to a huge comeback win. Most recently Tedford has stubbornly stuck with QB Zach Maynard, and inexplicably, after Brendan Bigelow's breakout performance against Ohio State (4 carries for 160 yds, two TDs, and two first downs on the other two carries), in the next game against USC he had zero carries in the first half, and he's had very few carries since, despite more spectacular plays in those few additional carries.

2. Overly complex offense with no identity. Tedford's excuse for not playing Bigelow more is that he's not picking up the playbook fast enough (Bigelow is a sophmore). The answer to that excuse is obvious, limit the playbook when he's in so he'll know where to line up, where to run, and who to block on play action. As for "identity," he just keeps adding stuff to the playbook like spread formations, pistol formation, zone-read plays, etc., instead of just playing and recruiting to one philosophy. We saw what Harbaugh did at Stanford. He wanted to play smash-mouth football, so he recruited big linemen and a bunch of tight ends (plus got lucky with Andrew Luck) and executed his vision. Despite having such a talented QB, Harbaugh stuck to a balanced attack instead of trying to pump up Luck's stats. While I am generally in favor of running Tedford's pro-style offense (several NFL coaches have commented on how well-prepared draft picks from Cal have been), it's clear he doesn't know how to react to the changing offensive landscape in the Pac-12. Cal either has to have a defense that can stop the high-scoring offenses, or have an offense that can keep up, but they have neither.

Tedford has done great things for Cal—the refurbished stadium and new training facilities could not have been done without his early succes—but it will be a relief when they finally announce a change in direction.

quote:A school that cares nothing about football is now going to buy out and fire its semi-successful football coach?

Looks odd at first glance but it's just a realization that football is bigger than just playing the game...it's an economic engine in the power conferences. The Pac 10 is a football conference and you have to carry your weight when you're getting a pro rata share of the "big bucks".

In the SEC, you have the traditional "have nots", Kentucky and Vandy, who have been getting much negativity thrown their way for not dedicating the resources needed to elevate their football programs. Kentucky usually gets a bye because the basketball program is the flagship of the conference. Vandy gets a semi-bye because of academics. Those perceptions may change going forward.

quote:A school that cares nothing about football is now going to buy out and fire its semi-successful football coach?

Two responses to that:

1. For six of Tedford's first 10 years (the middle years), Cal has been top 30 in FBS attendance, and this is in a market with two pro teams and Stanford within 30 miles of Berkeley. So to say that no one cares about Cal football is just repeating an ignorant stereotype.

2. Cal just spent $321 million (a fraction of which actually exists Image: http://media.scout.com/media/forums/emoticons/tongue.gif) on stadium improvements and new training facilities. This is the driving force now. Cal is paying for it with ESP (endowment seating program) where you pay a lot of money to sit on the 50 yard line and enjoy one of three fancy new clubs. The University Club is at the top of the press box, see view: Memorial Stadium from Tightwad Hill. So the dilemma for Sandy Barbour is risking that people won't renew their ESP seats if Tedford sticks around. Tedford points to Mike Riley as an example of a program having a couple of down years and then bouncing back, but Cal fans see a pattern of odd decisions, stubbornness, increasing penalties, inability to develop QBs (and he was considered a QB guru), and a lack of offensive identity. He keeps tinkering with the offense and meanwhile several Pac-12 programs are passing him right by. Sometimes both the coach and the program benefits from a fresh start, and I think that's the case here.

They probably have plenty of alums with lots of money in the computer valley. I guess those said alums are tired of losing too.... ...The right coach could do very well there imho. There's no shortage of top shelf talent in California.

quote:Definitely, but how much do they care about the football team? It took Tedford a pretty long time to get the money for all the upgrades they're just getting now.

The financing for the stadium and training center comes from ESP (endowment seating program) sales (which get you into one of three fancy new clubs), which depends on support from a wider range of semi-wealthy and wealthy alumni, which would include the younger entrepreneurs and highly paid engineers in silicon valley. But the people calling the shots (paying for Tedford's salary) I think are older business types (like the families behind Levi Strauss and The Gap) who are very low-key, not so visibly connected to the program like Phil Knight or T. Boone Pickens. People were reporting over the last week that the money to buy him out has been raisied, and we will find out later today.

Then the question will be, can we attract a big name to take over? A well-known name is considered important to maintain the ESP sales.